Customerspective

Netflix and the Blogosphere

I was reading Kim’s recent blog post about her opinions on Netflix. I, too, am a huge fan of the site for a number of reasons. I like its user-friendly personalized features which allow me to rate my movies and share my list with friends. 

Kim and I are not alone. Many other Netflix fans contribute to the Hacking Netflix blog, a really interesting blog about Netflix that aims to “learn as much as we can about this company and share this information.”  In the past, this blog placed Netflix squarely in the media spotlight when a Hacking Netflix blogger asked for an interview with Netflix. The blogger received a scripted email from the Netflix corporate relations department that didn’t seem to take him seriously. He pasted the exchange on Hacking Netflix and went on to explain how this blog helped to evangelize Netflix, as these bloggers were customer advocates for the company.

Following the entire exchange in the publications that picked up the story taught me (and probably others) a valuable lesson about customer feedback: If your customers spend the time to think (and write) about what they do/don’t like about your company, it’s important to listen because they can be your most influential customers (and ex-customers).

Don’t Shoot the Messenger

Good News vs. Bad News vs. No News:  Which do you prefer?

Nobody likes receiving bad news. 

Nobody likes being the bearer of bad news either. 

But what if bad news is unavoidable? 

Then what?

As we all know, business tends to be a mixture of good news and bad news – reactive behavior and proactive behavior.  In order to obtain a business case success, one must weigh his options. 

Let’s pretend John works for a bakery.  He is hired to make a 3-tiered cake for a party in three colors – yellow, blue, and pink.  John’s super busy, makes the cake, and colors it yellow, blue and green.  By the time he realizes his error, it’s too late to fix.  The cake must be at the party in 15 minutes.  So, what’s John to do?

John has two options:

a.)     John can drop off the cake saying nothing about the color mix-up.  He can then be reactive to their inquiries about the color of the cake.

b.)     John can be honest and upfront with his customers.  He can be proactive, admitting a mix-up, and offering options on how to rectify the situation.

Sadly, I think many people in business today may have chosen option A (or at least been tempted to) – to avoid confrontation and “bad-business.”  But, in reality, option B is the way to go.  Sure, maybe the customer would be upset at first, but I do believe in honesty and in the attempt to turn a wrong into a right.  This can outweigh any disaster caused – unintentionally or otherwise.

The customer may not end up ordering a cake from John again, but I do believe they are more likely to come back if the cards were all laid out on the table, rather than being hidden under a placemat. 

The moral of this story – be proactive with customers, even if it’s news they won’t want to hear.  The sting will hurt more in the long run if the truth is avoided.   

NetFlix is the new Amazon

As a usability specialist, one of the most enjoyable parts of my job is collecting examples of online customer experiences--both superb and terrible examples.

When I first started doing this, I had my personal "go-to" sites. For the terrible experience examples, I could often rely on some of the old-school banking sites. For the excellent ones,  I often went to...drum roll please...Amazon. I know, surprise, surprise. But well...there are a wealth of thoughtful implementations there. And if there were some lame concepts? Well, at least i knew they had been usability tested, and wouldn't totally stymie my users.

But then I started noticing Netflix. The boldness and simplicity of the pages. The progressive disclosure of information. The way they set Customer expectations about the amount of time actions take, and the way they clearly explain that the customer can change their mind anytime without penalty. It's like, they actually understand that people have a finite amount of time, and that trying to make the customer a prisoner of their service is a bad thing.

Not to mention, being on the NetFlix site...is fun!

So, I've made a lot of NetFlix screen captures in my experience research, to the point that they are starting to outnumber my Amazon captures. But the best thing I've learned from the site is something that all companies should realize. It is this:

Every minute a Customer interacts with your company is a privilege for you. Don't waste it or take it for granted. Ever. 

Be Introspective and See the Customer's Perspective

Last month, Starbuck's CEO Howard Schultz circulated an internal memo to his management team. He asked them to take a step back, look at the company and find ways to get back to the company's core beliefs that started their success.

I've been watching Starbucks' growth with a critical eye, especially after I read Schultz's book a couple years ago. The growth they were experiencing then, and still are, conflicts with those core values Schultz wanted to bring to Starbucks' customer - a quality cup of coffee and the simple experience around it.

You can decide on your own what you think of Starbucks. But the point -- that Schultz has hopefully drawn a line in the sand and said they must step back and reanalyze where they started and where they are now -- is key to understanding any business and how you can be the best to your customers. Because in the end, it's all about the customer and what you give them.